Thursday, July 14, 2011

Givenchy Haute Couture F/W 11.12







PARIS, July 5, 2011
By Nicole Phelps - www.style.com
Just over a week ago, Riccardo Tisci dazzled the menswear crowd with a lush, colorful show inspired by bird-of-paradise flowers. For his new haute couture collection, it was paradise in general that intrigued him. "Purity, lightness, fragility," was how he summed up his focus. At first glance, this was a much more restrained affair. The ten looks were all white, or very nearly so. But Tisci held nothing back when it came to the handwork.


Months and months in the planning, a long tulle dress was decorated with tiger's-eye pearls that had been inserted with crystals to catch the light and arrayed in the exact same pattern as the marks on an ostrich skin. Another gown was even more painstakingly embroidered with tiny silvery-gray caviar beads. In a callback to his women's ready-to-wear, Tisci paired it with a matching jumper boasting a sheer front panel and beading everywhere else so thick it was 3-D. A third dress, the most expensive and time-consuming to make of all the pieces, was entirely sewn of symmetrically placed hand-cut silk tulle paillettes. The result looked like some sort of exotic fish--in the most flattering possible way.

And, really, that was just the beginning of the embellishments. Hand-curled feathers; plumes so densely embroidered they looked like fur; dégradé beading that not only changed color but also went from shiny to matte—all rewarded the sort of up-close inspection that Tisci has made a point of his Place Vendôme couture installations. At these presentations, every detail, however small, warrants his attention. On the one hand, a fragrance diffuser misted the scent of spring roses through the rooms; and on the other, Popol Vuh, circa Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God, played on the speakers.

Tisci, in other words, hasn't entirely abandoned his dark side, nor lost his taste for provocation. Mingling among all those high-priced embellishments were the oversize plastic zippers that have become a signature of his modern take on the traditional art of custom dressmaking. And don't forget all the flesh laid bare by his cutouts, peekaboo fringe, and tulle. Still, the exquisite technique was the big story here, pointing as it did to the continuing evolution of this designer's unique couture vision.



You can see the collection in greater detail here.

8 comments:

  1. Very similar to the last couture Givenchy did.

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  2. LOL, which was very similar to the one before that. However, I think these garments are heavenly. When the client purchases one, they usually get a silk lining to prevent the sheer-nude look, and to own one of these is to own a masterpiece. I guess if you make 10 a season, each one of a kind, it doesn't matter that they're really similar season to season. You just want to get your hands on one of them before they're gone.

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  3. True and most of Givenchy stuff is to die for. It's true couture. I think this is one of the best!

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  4. I keep looking at these dresses and going "WHAT!!!!!" the amount of detail is insane. It would take a brave woman to wear these, but I just want to see one up close, just once. I need the silk lining though. I can't stand seeing underwear or nipples, and the back of one dress, it gives the illusion of saddlebags without any lining. eek! Some of the mermaid details on the trains and skirts is so beautiful, without being cheesy bridal. Tisci might be a little bit insane, but I love seeing what he creates.

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  5. It's a close tie between the 2nd one and the 4th one. I'm not sure. I just don't like buttocks. At all.

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  6. I love the 4th, but that's the one that looks the WORST from the back without lining. but the front is amazing.

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  7. The 4th is the most exquisite from the front but the back is meh at the most. The 2nd is okay from the front, I like it, but the back is amazing! Super stunning. So dreamy. They are my two favorites.

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  8. oh my goodness. How did those images disappear? Argh. Picasa is the worst photo site ever.

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